The Pontifical Academy for Life has issued a statement defending Pope Francis’s appointment of Mariana Mazzucato as an ordinary member of the Academy, the Catholic News Agency has reported.

Around the time of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the economist’s tweets and retweets repeatedly manifested support for abortion “rights.”

“It is important that women and men with skills in various disciplines and from different contexts enter the Pontifical Academy for Life, for a constant and fruitful interdisciplinary, intercultural and interreligious dialogue,” according to the statement, which was distributed to journalists, but not posted publicly. “All Academics are chosen from among scientists and experts of absolute importance.”

“The nominations of the Ordinary Academics are made by the Pope,” the statement continued. “Therefore, before being nominated, the names proposed or reported go through a procedure that foresees the consultation of the Apostolic Nuncio and the Episcopal Conference of the countries where the Academics live and work. It also happened in this case and there were no problems.”

According to the Pontifical Academy for Life’s statutes, promulgated by Pope Francis in 2016, ordinary members are appointed on the basis of their “promotion of the right to life of every human person,” among other qualifications. The Academy’s statement did not address the contradiction between its own statutes and the decision to appoint Mazzucato.